For the most part frozen-food servers for the portioning and dispensing of ice cream, sherberts and, in general, frozen foods provided in bulk form, comprises a scoop-shaped head of hemispherical configuration which can bite into the mass of the frozen comestible as the head is forced into the latter by a handle which can be rigid with this head. The comestible forms a ball within the head and this ball can be dispensed by actuating a lever, pusher, rack-and-pinion mechanism, pivoting element or some other member which releases the ball from the head and enables the same to be deposited as a serving.
The resulting scoop can be placed in an ice cream cone, in a serving cup or anywhere convenient for eating or further distribution.
Such devices create difficulties for the user since manipulation of the actuating mechanism may be difficult if the food is highly frozen, the device cannot be cleaned readily because of the ball-release mechanism, and the mechanism is subject to wear or distortion, rendering the unit unusable.
It has been proposed to shape the scoop head so that it conforms to a configuration other than that of a full hemisphere, thereby making release of the ball depend upon the dexterity of the user, for example when the ball is placed in a cone or the like for dispensing. While such devices are free from many of the difficulties encountered with scoops provided with release mechanisms as described, they also are not fully satisfactory because release of the ball from the scoop may be difficult from time to time and the scoop cannot readily be used by unskilled individuals.
A cumbersome electrically heated ice cream scoop has been developed, this scoop utilizing a resistive heater in heat-transmitting relationship with the scoop-shaped head, a thermostat, a switch, and, of course, an electrical supply conductor connected to the circuit formed by these elements in the handle of the device.
This arrangement was not easy to handle, was comparatively expensive, was simple to clean but could not be safely immersed when cleaning required immersion and had various other defects which prevented widespread acceptance of the unit.